Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher

Winter Solstice by Rosamunde Pilcher is Christmas reading at its best! Set in a spacious old house in a little town north of Inverness, the story brings an unlikely group of people together for Christmas, capturing the true spirit of the season.

Pilcher takes time at the beginning of the book to introduce us to the main characters one by one, giving us the background stories needed to fully appreciate the significance of each individual. The book is delightfully cozy and happy, but it is so because you understand the pain and heartache each person brings to the Christmas season and with this understanding rejoice as heartache is soothed with love and friendship and celebration.

The story follows the lives of Oscar, a new widower devastated by the loss of his wife and young daughter and now homeless, and Elfrida, an older actress with no attachments who drops everything to take Oscar to Scotland for Christmas. Through a series of events they are joined in Scotland by Elfrida’s neice and great-niece who have no other place to celebrate the holidays. A snowstorm brings one more person into the mix for the holiday week. As the story unfolds we are introduced to the idyllic town of Creagan and its inhabitants which include Mrs. Snead (the housekeeper), her husband, and Peter Kennedy (the minister) and his family. Interactions and growing friendships with these, and others, help to bring about a feeling of true community as well as ideas and support for solving the imminent question of what the future holds for each person in the house after Christmas is over.

Pilcher, a well-known English-born writer, has lived in Scotland much of her life. Her intimate knowledge of the countryside comes through in her writings. Many of the places in this book are based on real Scottish towns and buildings.

It is often difficult to find a truly well-written, satisfying Christmas story. Winter Solstice is a treasure of a book and the perfect antidote to the stress of the Christmas season.

Travel Notes: Inverness Tours offers a Rosamunde Pilcher Winter Solstice tour in which you can travel to see the principal towns and villages in this book. Otherwise, it is helpful to know that Tain is the real name for Kingsferry (shopping town in the book), Skibo Castle is the basis for Corrydale (ancestral home in the book), and Dornoch is the town on which Pilcher based Creagan (the Scottish setting for Winter Solstice)

I’ve lost count of how many times I have read (or listened to on Audible) this book! It is currently my all-time favorite book and I have moved from listening to it (listening allows me more knitting time) just at the holidays, to whenever I need a comfortable distraction. We recently visited Scotland and I was sad to miss seeing Dornoch…. but will certainly try to visit again and have this little corner of the world at the top of my list!

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